This book explores the large-scale impacts of economic restructuring in the Midwest in response to the 1980s farm crisis. Drawing upon detailed surveys from twelve north-central states, the authors offer a comprehensive view of farm restructuring and its social, economic, and political consequences. The study goes beyond the farm gate to look at the broader implications of those changes for agriculture policy, related industries, and areas still dependent upon farming, contributing to the literature on economic restructuring. Like the factory closings in the Rust Belt, the dramatic failure of agricultural industries in the Farm Belt has caused fundamental changes in the organization and control of production. The impact of job losses and economic depression and the shattering of a way of life have shaken public complacency about the stability of many fundamental American myths. Beyond the Amber Waves of Grain looks at the farm crisis not as a purely agricultural, nonurban issue but as one that adds to our understanding of the overall social impacts of economic change. The book takes up the story of Midwestern farm enterprises in the wake of the farm crisis of the 1980s. Using data drawn from detailed surveys of 3,940 farm households in twelve north-central states, the authors offer a comprehensive view of the social and economic restructuring of agriculture and explore the consequences for farm enterprises, farm households, and farming communities. The study goes beyond the farm gate to look at the broader implications for related industries and communities dependent upon farming, for agricultural and rural policies, and for farm women and men, contributing to the literature on economic restructuring and its outcomes.
By:
Paul Lasley
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 152mm,
Weight: 420g
ISBN: 9780367166656
ISBN 10: 0367166658
Pages: 274
Publication Date: 13 June 2023
Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Introduction: farm restructuring and crisis in the heartland, Linda Lobao and Paul Lasley; the agricultures of the Midwest and their demographic and economic environments, Daryl Hobbs and Robert Weagley. Part 1 The farm enterprise: financial characteristics of farm operations, F. Larry Leistritz and Freddie L. Barnard; the process of adaptation and the consequences to the farm system, Bruce B. Johnson and Raymond D. Vlasin; plans for changing the farming business and needs for training, Kent D. Olson and William E. Saupe. Part 2 The farm household: the changing division of labour on American farms, Jackie Fellows; the effects of financial hardship on familial well-being, P. Lasley; perceiving hardship and managing life, Katherine Meyer. Part 3 The farm community: community change, Arlo Biere; organization, community and political involvement as responses to rural restructuring, L. Lobao. Part 4 Policy implications: the farm crisis in the Midwest - trends and implications, F.L. Leistritz and K. Meyer; methodology, P. Lasley
Paul Lasley (Author) , F. Larry Leistritz (Author)
